Washington County reviews proposed library funding formula, service boundaries ahead of 2026 IGA deadline

Washington County commissioners on Sept. 23 reviewed a staff- and consultant-developed proposal to change how county library levy funds are allocated across the Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) network, a change county staff said is needed because the current intergovernmental agreement (IGA) expires in June 2026.

County staff and consultants from Marina and Company presented a multi-step method that (1) assigns voter-precinct service boundaries using municipal lines and travel-time radii around libraries, (2) defines “funding units” by linking service-population bands to estimated staffing levels, and (3) converts those units into dollars using an average cost input. The board and partners were presented with modeling showing a minimum implementation increase for all partners, targeted scale-up timetables for Aloha and Forest Grove, and a proposal for WCCLS to centralize physical collections beginning in July 2027.

Staff said the county’s objective is to finalize a methodology the board can authorize so partner jurisdictions can complete budget planning and conclude IGAs before the current agreements expire. “Our goal is to communicate the initial year 1 funding allocation by December 2025,” assistant county administrator Marnie Kyle told the board.

Why it matters: the proposal would reallocate county levy and general-fund support across cities and nonprofit-managed libraries in Washington County and would become the basis for annual allocations and the IGAs that spell out how partners operate the system. Staff stressed the plan depends on the property-tax levy and county general-fund assumptions; if levy receipts fall short, allocations would change.

What staff presented

- Service boundaries: Consultants presented travel-time analysis showing that residents who live closer to a library overwhelmingly use that library. Jordan Henderson of Marina and Company summarized the finding: “the closer you are to a library, the stronger the chance that that is the library you're using more often than not.” Staff proposed a stepwise assignment: first assign voter precincts inside municipal boundaries to that city’s partner, then assign precincts within a 5-minute travel-time radius to nearby libraries, expand to a 10-minute radius for remaining precincts, and resolve overlapping areas by asking partners to negotiate using planning, school locations and projected growth as tiebreakers.

- Funding units: The proposed allocation method starts with a guaranteed baseline staffing level for every partner and then adds incremental funding units for each additional 2,500 people in a partner’s service population. Staff said the units are tied to a staffing reference model created from partner-reported FTEs plotted against service-population bands.

- Equity lens and modeling: Staff used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to compare the current allocation with the proposed one. Presentations showed the proposed methodology tightened the range of dollars-per-capita across partners, although presenters and commissioners noted outliers (for example, North Plains) remained.

- Implementation approach: To avoid sudden operational shocks, staff proposed: at least a 5% minimum increase for every partner in year one; phased scale-up for libraries projected to receive large increases (Aloha, Forest Grove) so they could plan staffing, facilities and technology; an allowance for nonprofit partners to recognize facilities and administrative cost differences; and centralized WCCLS collections beginning July 2027 to reduce partners’ local collection costs.

Questions and concerns from elected officials

Several commissioners and municipal representatives pressed staff for additional detail and raised objections about service-boundary maps and the timing of reallocations.

Commissioner Jerry Willie challenged the underlying travel-time implications and the scale of population reassignment shown in the modeling: “I wanna know where the 40,000 people that are gonna leave Hillsborough and go to Aloha, where the heck are they coming from?” He warned that habitual library users will not shift immediately based on boundary lines and said Aloha would need a multi-year buildout to serve a much larger population.

Beaverton city officials and others said elected members had not seen the same level of supporting detail as county staff and asked for clearer materials. Staff committed to providing follow-up materials and said they will respond to written questions from mayors and city councils.

Dependencies and risks

- Funding reliance: Staff repeatedly emphasized the proposal depends on property-tax levy revenue and county general-fund allocations. Commissioners sought clarity on fund-balance rules: the county proposal models staying within a three-month fund-balance target if projected levy growth of 4.25% per year materializes, but staff acknowledged the model is sensitive to assessed-value growth and levy outcomes.

- Timing: Staff said current IGAs expire June 2026 and a new funding methodology and IGAs would need to be in place to take effect on July 1, 2026. To give partners time to budget, staff aims to communicate year-one allocations by December 2025.

- Equity and transparency: Several commissioners stressed monitoring and a mid-levy review. Commissioner Pam Treese and others urged this be an iterative process with built-in checkpoints in years two and three and clear reporting to the board and partner councils.

Board next steps and public process

Commissioners directed staff to provide additional data and clarifications and scheduled more discussion at an Oct. 2 work session; any formal board action on the methodology was tentatively scheduled for Oct. 9. Staff will also collect and distribute letters from elected officials and produce comparative charts showing current allocations versus the staff proposal. Staff noted that the cooperative partners would need time to negotiate individual IGAs once the board gives final direction.

Ending

County staff said they will return with additional detail, including the allocation spreadsheet and clarifications about urban-reserve areas and annexation timing, before the board makes a formal decision. Commissioners reiterated the need to balance predictability for partners with equity goals, and to preserve a fund-balance buffer tied to levy outcomes and county budget decisions.